Prayagraj: Once confined to the four walls of homes and assisting in farming activities, rural women are now turning into entrepreneurs. The Yogi government’s Rural Livelihood Mission has offered a broad foundation to transform their lives, with ‘Lakhpati Didis’ (women earning an annual income of Rs 1 lakh or more) occupying a central place in the initiative. Driven by the active implementation of the state government’s Livelihood Mission, the number of Lakhpati Didis in the Prayagraj district is rising rapidly.Deputy Commissioner (NLRM), Shama Singh said that the revised target for the current financial year is to bring 2,19,277 women into the fold of Lakhpati Didis. During the first quarter of the year alone, over 66,000 women were surveyed and identified for this status. Previously, 1,15,000 women had already been identified as Lakhpati Didis, while 1,28,000 had undergone the survey process as the survey remains an ongoing activity.These rural women from self-help groups have achieved the status of ‘Lakhpati Didi’ by engaging in self-employment across sectors such as agriculture, dairy production, fisheries, beekeeping, silk production, banking, electricity services, and solar energy. Sector-wise, the highest number of Lakhpati Didis are associated with agriculture, followed by animal husbandry. In the first quarter of the current financial year, Holagarh block recorded the highest number of identified Lakhpati Didis at 1,232.Bahariya block follows in second place with 576, while Sahson block ranks third with 382. The three-tier structure comprising Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organizations (VOs), and Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) has emerged as a robust mechanism for implementing the government’s ambitious welfare schemes at the grassroots level. Group members are taking information about key schemes—such as MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Ujjwala Yojana, pensions for the elderly and destitute, and Ayushman Bharat directly to households. This network of women acts as a bridge, facilitating everything from eligibility verification and the application process to coordination with relevant departments, ensuring social and economic upliftment of every family.
